Help! Tips On Substituting Guar Gum For Xanthan Gum Needed

So I packed all the supplies needed for a gluten free gingerbread house to bake and make while we're with inlaws in Germany but forgot xanthan gum. They don't sell it here. I have guar gum. Can I substitute it 1:1? Will it work the same? I'm planning to use this recipe http://noglutennopro...read-house.html, but am open to other suggestions, though I can't do more shopping since stores are closed tomorrow. This is our first gluten free Christmas and my 4yo is so excited about this gingerbread house. At this point I don't even care if it's edible!

I use guar gum exclusively now (I had to switch to it because found out I couldn't have xanthan gum). The substitution amount is the same. However some including myself find that they need to add an additional 1/2 teaspoon per cup of glutenfree flour when using guar gum instead of xanthan gum. It depends on what you are making though.

The amount of guar gum for cookies is 1/2 teaspoon per cup glutenfree flour.
For cakes the amount is 1/4 teaspoon per cup glutenfree flour
For pizza crust the amount is 2 teaspoons per cup glutenfree flour

I wish you the best of luck...I have found using guar gum instead can be a little tricky at times. I usually add a smidgen more guar gum in substitution for xanthan gum when I am trying a recipe for the first time.

From Beth Hillson, who is the Food Editor of Living Without Magazine (she is also President of the American Celiac Disease Alliance as well as the founder of the Gluten Free Pantry line of products).

She wrote this:

If a recipe calls for xanthan gum, can I use guar gum instead?

This question comes up so frequently that the answer bears repeating in this column. Xanthan gum is fermented with corn; the amount is very small but some corn-allergic people may not be able to tolerate xanthan for this reason. Guar gum and xanthan gum are interchangeable in gluten-free baking. Some cookbook authors suggest using 1½ teaspoons guar gum for every 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. But replacing xanthan with an equal amount of guar gum works just fine.

(From Living Without Magazine)

Happy Baking!!!

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"Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way we cope with it makes the difference." Virginia Satir

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“If idiots could fly, the sky would be like an airport.”― Laura Davenport

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"LTES" Gem 2014

Misdiagnosed for 25+ years; Finally Diagnosed with Celiac 11/01/10. Double DQ2 genes. This thing tried to kill me. I view Celiac as a fire breathing dragon --and I have run my sword right through his throat.I. Win.

IrishHeart...Beth Hillson is the author of one of my cookbooks (gluten-free makeovers) that says you may need to add an additional 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon per cup glutenfree flour when using guar gum instead of xanthan gum. Of all my cookbooks this is by far my favorite...I absolutely love Beth Hillson because she has recipes in there for some of my favorite things that other cookbooks don't have.

Another cookbook I have says guar gum works especially well with rice flour. When I made my bread exclusively with brown rice flour it was fine with an equal amount guar gum instead of xanthan gum. But when I started using rice flour with some sorghum flour in it for my bread I found I had to add 1/2 teaspoon more guar gum or the bread would crack and be more crumbly.

One more cookbook (1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes) by Carol Fenster recommends a bit more guar gum for everthing when substituting guar gum for xanthan gum. But Carol Fenster also uses a blend with sorghum in it. So I am thinking maybe equal amounts for substituting guar gum for xanthan when using rice flour but using other types of flour in the blend (such as sorghum for one) may need a bit more guar gum.

At any rate I have found using guar gum instead to be a bit tricky at times. I prefer the taste and texture of guar gum over xanthan gum but I will say baked goods did look a lot better when I used to use xanthan gum especially cupcakes and cookies and my yeast bread I make in the machine which will have cracks in them if I don't add a bit more guar gum to them.

I am really hoping the gingerbread house comes out fine. And so hoping it doesn't have cracks in it. I hope Megan will come back and tell us how it turned out. It is so nice that I am hoping to find out how it came out with using the guar gum instead.

“If idiots could fly, the sky would be like an airport.”― Laura Davenport

"Do or do not. There is no try. "- Yoda.

"LTES" Gem 2014

Misdiagnosed for 25+ years; Finally Diagnosed with Celiac 11/01/10. Double DQ2 genes. This thing tried to kill me. I view Celiac as a fire breathing dragon --and I have run my sword right through his throat.I. Win.